The Slow Fashion Movement: 10 Brands That Are Doing it Right

In honor of Made in America Month, we did some research and talked to some experts to learn more about the growing Slow Fashion movement in the U.S. Read on to find out what it is, plus 10 brands doing it well, keeping their production local, sustainable, high-quality, and...slow.

December is an important month for the fashion and retail industry--and not just because of the ka-ching of the cash register duing holiday sales. You may not know it, but December is also 'Made in America' month.

Started in 1985 under Ronald Reagan, Made in America month aims to encourage consumers to purchase items produced locally in the United States. Outsourcing production overseas, where labor is by and large cheaper, not only contributes to our country's unemployment rate and shrinking garment industry, but also helps keep overseas sweatshops and factories with unfair working conditions in business. Needless to say the 'made in America' movement is more important than ever--not least because it's helped give way to a bigger, broader-minded movement: Slow fashion.

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The term 'slow fashion,' coined in 2008 by sustainable design consultant Kate Fletcher, describes an approach to clothing and fashion that is decidedly at odds with the fast (and even faster) fashion cycle.

"Slow fashion encompasses sustainable fashion, but it takes a broader view than just supporting organic T-Shirts," said Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion.

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"It's about the consumer becoming aware of the whole process--from design through production through use and through the potential to reuse," Hazel Clark, research chair of fashion at Parsons said.

"The problem with something like green fashion [or other movements]," Clark continued, "Is that it's still very much focused on the item's consumption, whereas slow fashion addresses the whole cycle."

"It's about reconnecting with our clothes, rather than viewing them as quick trends or throwaway items," Cline said. "It's about tapping into the pleasure of buying a well-made garment with a timeless design, being able to recognize quality, repairing and properly caring for your wardrobe."

Getting consumers to buy less doesn't exactly seem to go hand-in-hand with designing a fashion line--but actually there is a burgeoning group of designers who are doing just that.

"Some designers are doing some very interesting things...making clothes not tied to a season, using very lovely fabrics and thinking beyond the three-week fashion cycle of Forever 21," Clark said.

Read on to learn about ten brands who we feel have embraced slow fashion, and done it well.

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Designer Tara St. James, who used to design Covet, won the 2011 Ecco Domani Award for Sustainable Design and is dedicated to promoting sustainable design methods. She produces her line primarily in NYC and uses recycled polyester, hemp, Tencel, organic cotton, and reclaimed wool.

By far the oldest brand on our list, Pendleton is one of few American manufacturers who's stuck it out and remained dedicated to producing everything locally and responsibly, as well as to a legacy of long-lasting quality. In addition to employing 100+ year-old mills in the Northwest, they commit to using sustainable wool, recycling materials, and continually reducing water and energy usage through better technology.

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Fashion has been notoriously slow to take to the online world (particularly on the editorial side), but some brands are really getting it right. A smart digital strategy can translate to brand awareness, and ultimately, lots of sales.
L2‘s Digital IQ Index took this concept to the next level and released its third annual report card assessing brands’ “digital IQ.” The ratings they give range from Genius to Feeble. Digital strategy is often uneven, and this can hurt a brand. Per the report: "Although 94 percent of brands in the Index have a presence on Facebook, one in five brands still lacks e-commerce capability." How annoying is it to try to buy something online, only to discover you actually have to leave your home? That kind of thing really matters to consumers these days.
So who’s excelling online and who needs a lot of help? Here’s the top ten list:

Many things have slowed down in Iceland since the island economy collapsed in 2008. Fashion is not one of those things, I learned at this weekend’s Reykjavik Fashion Festival. Still, two women are taking it slow, embracing the "slow fashion movement" to be exact, and trying to instill integrity, honesty and respect into design. Their show had one of the most talked about shows and collections at the RFF.
When I first heard that the house of Ella was a proponent of “slow fashion” I immediately asked, “what is slow fashion?" Is it like slow food? Small-scale, sustainable, high quality? Designer Katrin Maria Karadottir and Creative director and founder Elinros Lindal explained to me that that's exactly what it is.
They walked me through their movement like grownups explaining something complex (algebra, fusion, the Kardashians) to a child. At the end of our chat I came to see that slow fashion (and slow things in general in the hands of women like Elinros and Katrin could be the future of Iceland’s economic prosperity.
Fashionista: What exactly does slow fashion mean here in Iceland?